growing a salad-lover’s garden, with ellen ogden

I’M RESOWING GREENS GALORE, spurred onward by the welcome shift in weather, and also by a chat with Ellen Ecker Ogden, author of of “The Complete Kitchen Garden.” Thanks to Ellen, my palette of ingredients to try is widening, and I’ve got several new variations on vinaigrette to taste-test, too. Get her advice below.

Ellen calls herself as a “food artist.” No wonder, because since 1980, when she moved to Zone 4Bish Vermont after studying art in college, she has been making living collages of lettuces April through October, “splashed with dabs of red orach, fronds of chervil and rosettes of claytonia.” You probably know Ellen as co-founder of The Cook’s Garden in 1984, a breakthrough seed catalog at the time (but since sold), and as author of the 2003 cookbook “From the Cook’s Garden.” Last week we spoke about what she calls “a salad-lover’s garden,” more than just your average row or two of lettuce.

my salad-garden q&a with ellen ogden

ELLEN OGDEN and I talked salads on my public-radio show and podcast. The highlights of our conversation:

salad-lover’s garden tips from ellen ogden

Direct sow your salad greens, says Ellen. It’s easier than sowing indoors and transplanting, and “they pop up fast, and are fast to produce—in just a few weeks.”

Re-sow small amounts right through into August in the North. “That’s really the key. I start my greens every two weeks–small, short rows of maybe 5 feet long.” Succession sowings can continue slightly longer if salads are grown under cover—and of course in warmer zones, the timing shifts with the later frost dates.

Be opportunistic. “Stick the rows everywhere,” says Ellen, including between other plants. “Between rows of peas, for instance—and I have cilantro and dill growing between rows of garlic right now.”

Mix it up! “Herbs, greens, and aromatics are how I think of what I grow,” says Ellen, recommending such must-have salad “extras” as mint and lemon basil, in particular. She grows about 24 kinds of salad greens at any given time, rotating among an even wider palette of possibilities according to the times of the season.

Think about creating “a tapestry of colors,” not all medium-green greens. The dark red of radicchio with lighter greens of butterhead lettuce are among her essentials, “and always arugula—there’s never too much arugula,” Ellen says.

Likewise vary the texture. Greens may be oak-like and ruffled or positively frilly, or stiffer and simpler. One of her favorite add-in’s for texture, in the salad bowl and in the garden: the tiny, ferny leaves of chervil, which also adds a licorice-like punch to the salad bowl (start with just a little).

Purslane, claytonia and more: Speaking of unusual leaf shapes and textures: Ellen recommends golden purslane–with a lemony flavor, and not ground-hugging like the purslane we may know, but upright in its habit. And at the cooler ends of the growing season, she makes room for claytonia, with its tender, small lily-pad shaped leaf, and tiny white flowers at harvest time. It’s too delicate to be a crop for the marketplace, she says. “It’s the kind of thing you can only grow in your own salad lover’s garden.”

Can’t you get all of this in a pre-packaged seed mix, or mesclun? Ellen prefers to sow the individual ingredients, since each one grows at a slightly different rate, and then she can mix-and-match herself.

Don’t forget the edible flowers. “I adore calendulas,” says Ellen, who has a soft spot for borage, too, with its beautiful flowers on a beautiful plant—but admittedly it’s a space hog, and resows itself. She grows lots of violas and pansies, and this year sowed all kinds of nasturtiums, trailing and otherwise. The creamy white one called ‘Milkmaid’ is a favorite. “I like to eat all the parts of the plant,” she says.

At harvest time, use your scissors—clipping low on the plant. (Note from Margaret: I have a pair of big but lightweight craft-style scissors—you know, the kind with bright plastic handles—in every one of my garden tool bags. A great tool!)

Dress it with the right, light vinaigrette–which Ellen customizes (as below) to suit what goes into each particular salad bowl.

ellen’s salad-dressing variations

ELLEN OGDEN learned the basic proportions of vinaigrette years ago from her mother, and her grandmother, and their 3 parts oil, 1 part vinegar wisdom hasn’t really changed. But in the years since, Ellen has been tinkering with the other ingredients to best complement the incredible range of salad greens that she grows. “I like a nice, light vinaigrette,” she says, but the details vary.

“If the leaves are soft and buttery, I’ll substitute lemon for the vinegar,” says Ellen. “A tough romaine warrants bold balsamic vinegar and a teaspoon of Dijon. Spicy blends of salad greens are sweetened with a tablespoon of maple syrup.” And with bitter greens, she adds a little bit of something creamy something–such as yogurt, or crème fraiche.

how to win ‘the complete kitchen garden’ book

ELLEN OGDEN shared two signed copies of her 2011 book “The Complete Kitchen Garden” with me, to in turn share with you. It’s packed with designs for edible gardens, and with 100 of Ellen’s fresh-from-the-garden recipes.

To enter to win one of the books, all you have to do is answer this question:

What “extra” or “extras” beyond lettuce do you crave in your salads, and/or: Do you have a favorite lettuce variety of all?

(Me, I’m arugula-crazy, like Ellen, and also liberally add leaflets of flat-leaf parsley to my salad bowl. As for varieties, I’ve never seen a more beautiful red than ‘Merlox’ from Frank Morton, but I wouldn’t be without tried-and-true oldtime ‘Black Seeded Simpson’ either.)

Feeling shy? Just say, “count me in” or the equivalent, and your entry will count.

Winners will be chosen, and emailed with the news, after entries close at midnight on Monday, June 24. Good luck to all.

I can’t wait to try these dressings! I planted a lot of different lettuces this year, and usually just put lemon juice on my salad and let others dress their own. That’s going to change, because those recipes look like a great way to dress a salad! Thank you!

From the Podcast: Doug Tallamy’s ‘Nature’s Best Hope’

“Nature’s Best Hope” is the title of University of Delaware professor Doug Tallamy’s newest book, and the subtitle reads like this: “A New Approach to Conservation That Starts in Your Yard.” In other words, you and I are nature’s best hope. Our actions count, and they add up to counteract a fragmented landscape and other challenges to the survival of so many critically important native creatures and the greater environment we all share. (Stream our conversation below, read the illustrated transcript or subscribe free.)